Deploying TYPO3

This guide explains how to deploy a TYPO3 project to a production environment securely and efficiently. It covers both manual deployment and automated strategies using deployment tools.

TYPO3 can be deployed in various ways. A common and simple approach is to copy files and the database from a local environment to the live server.

However, for larger or more professional projects, automated deployment using tools is highly recommended.

What is deployment and why do I need it?

It is recommended to develop TYPO3 projects locally on your computer using Docker, DDEV, or a local PHP and database installation. At some point you will want to transfer your work to the server for a first initial deployment, which can be done manually or semi-manually.

As time goes on, you will fix bugs, prepare updates and develop new features on your local computer. These changes will then need to be transferred to the server. This can be done manually or can be automated.

Deployment can only be avoided if you Install and use TYPO3 directly on the server, which comes with a number of Quick wins & pitfalls.

The following sections contain examples of different types of deployment for TYPO3 projects:

Initial deployment

Manual deployment of a Composer-based installation. Moving your project to the server.

Incremental deployment

Manual deployment of a Composer-based installation. Ongoing updates to code or configuration.

Automated deployment

A description of the "symlink-switching" approach

Environments

Deploying TYPO3 projects means careful control of different environments. This document provides an overview of common environment stages, deployment flows, and best practices for managing TYPO3 instances across these stages.

Tools

The following tools can be used to deploy TYPO3 either manually or in an automated CI pipeline

CI/CD: Automatic deployment of TYPO3 Projects

Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Deployment/Delivery (CD) are development practices that automate the process of building, testing, and deploying code.

Running TYPO3 in Docker

Learn how to run TYPO3 using Docker containers for local development and testing, including step-by-step guides for plain Docker, Docker Compose, and DDEV.